With DU cut-offs expected to soar, even many scoring above 90% are going abroad as they don’t expect to get a DU college of their choice

Suruchi Sharma

Rishi Sood topped his school with a score of 94.7% in his Class XII board exams. However, Rishi and his parents are worried about getting admission in a good Delhi University college. With his cumulative score – which is the sole criterion for admission in most DU colleges – Rishi knows that he will be rejected by the top colleges. But the science student, who had also applied to various foreign universities, has got accepted in most of them, with some even offering him scholarships. 90 PERCENTERS GET CORNELL, IVY LEAGUE, BUT NOT DU “Our first choice is St Stephen’s, but we know that Rishi won’t make it, at least not in the first cut-off list. Going by the results this year, it is quite possible that he might not get the course of his choice at even Hindu or Hans Raj, so we have decided to send him to Cornell University for a Biology and Society Major. We don’t want to send him to any B-grade college,” says Manjari Sood, Rishi’s mother, adding, “Imagine! My son can get into Cornell, but not DU.” Rishi is just one of the many Class XII students who are turning to foreign universities as competition gets tougher here, even for the best of them. With Delhi University set to release its first cut-off list on June 26, many students are guesstimating that scores at some of the top colleges might even reach 100% – like last year – in some subjects. “The problem is of demand and supply,” says Dr P Hemalatha Reddy, principal, Sri Venkateswara College, “There are a lot of bright young students, but the problem is that we don’t have enough quality institutions.” Ankush Asri, who has scored 93 in Economics and an overall percentage of 90.3, is doubtful about getting into a college of choice. “I am trying for SRCC, but getting through seems a bit dicey. I know for sure that their cut-off won’t go below 95%. The problem is that I was confident about my Class XII scores, but sadly, they didn’t turn out as I expected. Issi chakkkar mein London School of Economics miss ho gaya. But now, I’ve applied to Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, US, as backup, in case I don’t get Economics (Hons) in a DU college of my choice,” says he. HUM 80% WAALON KI DU KI AUKAAT NAHI HAI Shikha Sharma, who has scored 87%, knows that she doesn’t stand a chance of getting into an LSR or a Hans Raj with her cumulative score. “I’m pretty sure the cutoff list for BCom is going to be sky high. Students who have scored below 90% should simply forget about getting BCom (Hons) in good colleges. That’s why I have decided I’ll go to Canada. I’ve even applied to Saint Mary’s University and Sprott School of Business,” says she. “Last year, my cousin scored 92.5%, and she missed getting Eco (Hons) at Stephen’s by just 0.5%. The cut-offs in Delhi are crazy. Last year was bad enough, and this time it’s going to be worse. Ninety se neeche waalon ki toh DU ki zindagi shuru hone se pehle hi khatam hai. Hans Raj, Hindu, SRCC, yeh sab colleges ko hum log movies mein hi dekhenge. Andar jaane ki toh aukaat nahi hai 80% waalon ki,” says Ankit Nagpal, who has scored 81.3% in his Class XII boards, and has decided to apply to foreign universities instead of waiting for the first cut-off list to be out. “What’s the point in waiting? Milna hai nahi. I’ve told my dad, apni jo bhi savings hai woh mujhe de do. My dad will willingly invest in my education,” he says. MIDDLE CLASS LOOKS ABROAD Foreign universities are also more than happy, as faced with a growing economic crisis, they have stepped up their efforts to woo Indian students. “Indian students are there in almost all foreign universities. In USA alone, they make for the second largest foreign-student population, after the Chinese. And this number is only growing. Earlier, it was only the wealthy Indian families who would send their kids to the best foreign universities, while the middle-class ones used to settle for DU as the cheaper and best option. But with DU increasingly becoming out of reach for many bright students from middle class families, these foreign universities have become their last and only option,” says Ritesh Sikka from a study-abroad consultancy. BYE BYE DU, HUM CHALE AMREEKA